How to build the Dropbox installer for Linux from source

The Dropbox installation package source has been released to the public via a GPL license. This means that even if we don't have installation packages for your Linux or Unix distribution of choice, you can still compile a version yourself.

For specific distributions or to configure your installation, see the INSTALL file included with the source package.

Want to contribute?

As mentioned above, nautilus-dropbox is released on a GPL license. However, due to legal requirements, we can only accept patches into our release if you release your patch into the public domain. Don't worry, we'll still credit you in the CONTRIBUTORS file included with every package. To submit your patches, contact us. If you want to develop on the Dropbox platform, visit our developers site and check out our API.

How to add Dropbox to your Linux repository

To add Dropbox to an Ubuntu repository:

Add the following line to /etc/apt/sources.list, and replace xenial with your build's name below.

How to remove Dropbox from your Linux repository

Remove the lines that you added when first adding Dropbox to your repository:

Ubuntu: Remove the following line from /etc/apt/sources.list. Replace xenial with your build's name:

deb http://linux.dropbox.com/ubuntu xenial main

Fedora: Remove the following from /etc/yum.conf:

name=Dropbox Repository

baseurl=http://linux.dropbox.com/fedora/\$releasever/

gpgkey=http://linux.dropbox.com/fedora/rpm-public-key.asc

Run this command to list all keys you've imported:

sudo apt-key list

Copy the key for Dropbox, then run this command:

sudo apt-key del <copied Dropbox key>

What Linux commands are available on Dropbox?

The Dropbox desktop app can be controlled with the Linux Command Line Interface (CLI). Depending on your Linux distribution and the package you used to perform installation, you may need to download a Python script to control Dropbox from the command line. However, we recommend you first try without downloading the script.

Before running commands, ensure that you’re running the available commands while your prompt is located at the root (top level) of the Dropbox folder.

By default, the Dropbox folder is located in ~/Dropbox (or ~/Dropbox (Your team name), if you have a Dropbox Business account). If you moved the Dropbox folder to a different location, be sure you navigate to the root of your actual Dropbox folder before running the commands below.